The nature of Heather and those surrounding her is very strongly connected to Christianity, except all of the genders are reversed.

-Alessa is the mother, the originator.-The Father is the Originator.

-She also appears in the form of a spirit girl with the same being, Cheryl.-He also appears in the form of a Spirit man with the same being, the Holy Spirit.

-They also appear in the form of a human daughter with the same being, Heather.-They also appear in the form of a human Son with the same (Logos) being, Jesus Christ.

-The three Alessa/Cheryl/Heather are seperate persons but one being. A trinity.-The three Father/Spirit/Son are seperate persons but one being, one God. The Trinity.

-Heather looks at the picture in the church and says she is the mother holding the baby, and also the baby being held by the mother.-Jesus Christ says, "The Father and I are one!"

-Heather wears shed blood and is given the power to forgive sins.-Christ by his shed blood has the power to forgive sins.

-Heather wears white and her dark hair is changed to light.-Christ's dark head and hair becomes white and he takes the darkness of mankind upon himself and changes it to light.

-The human parents of Heather are Harry and (as some suppose she is called) Jodie. The mother (Jodie) died early.-The human parents of Jesus are Mary and Joseph. The father Joseph (supposedly) died early.

-Heather dies "lifted up" in a high place (squished on the rollercoaster track) in the amusement park, but is resurrected to return there, and can't die any more.-Jesus Christ dies "lifted up" in a high place (nailed to a tree/cross on a hill) on earth, but is resurrected to return there, and can't die any more.

-Alessa/Cheryl/Heather gives birth to a daughter, who is the goddess of Silent Hill.-The Father/Spirit/Son produces "the sons of God", the angels. The greatest wants to be God himself, and becomes the god of hell instead, Satan.

-The false goddess guides and then possesses Claudia, head of 'The Order' and who controls religion, and gets complete power for a short time.-The false god Satan guides and then possesses the man who rules the world and controls religion, and gets complete power for a short time.

-The false goddess is defeated by Heather the daughter, who descends to the depths of Silent Hill and returns alive.-The false god is defeated by Christ the Son, who descends to the depths of hell and returns alive.

The time between the different incarnations is 7 years. This is a very significant number. Eg. 7 days of creation and rest making up a week, 7 colours in the spectrum, 7 musical notes in a scale. The seventh thing is holy.

Heather dies "lifted up" in a high place (squished on the rollercoaster track) in the amusement park, but is resurrected to return there, and can't die any more.

You mean at the start of the game? That was a premonition. She can still die, but Valtiel keeps resurrecting her (he's sometimes seen dragging her away when she dies).

Quote:

The time between the different incarnations is 7 years.

It doesn't take years for Alessa to reincarnate. The amount of time depends on whether or not one wants to consider Origins canon (and even then that wasn't reincarnation). Cheryl was created either the moment Alessa was burned, or a little while later because of Travis (probably only a day or so. Not 100% sure). As for Heather, she was created almost instantly as well. The moment God was defeated, actually (again, not years).

That's all I can really touch on with your post. There are members here who really know their thing when it comes to theology. Smart cookies, they are.

The false goddess is the evil female god, daughter of Alessa/Cheryl/Heather, who pretends to be the real God, but is a mere "God of a dump like this", "not much of a god, who can be defeated by one man" (Harry). She is a likeness of the greatest of the sons of God, Satan, who deceives the world and tries to overthrow the real God and take his place, but fails miserably.

Job 1:6..."Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them."

Isaiah 14:12-15..."How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, â€˜I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High.â€™ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the Pit."('Lucifer son of Dawn' is a mocking title, the 'Morning Star', or Venus, a title of Christ.)

Heather sees the false goddess: "This is God ...?"

16-17..."Those who see you will stare at you, and ponder over you: â€˜Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?â€™"

Heather: "God? Are you sure you don't mean Devil?"Vincent: "Whichever you like."

I thought I'd also add this, which I wrote in another subject, and follows the same theme, with the amusement park representing the world, and the rides representing life, ending in death. First comes Christ's on the rollercoaster (but with a chosen path, not actually controlled by the rollercoaster itself, but being subject to it in death), then the rest of us follow him on another ride we can't control, which immediately takes us out of the flesh illusion and into the real spiritual world. This is a general likeness of life and death...

The World is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it's real, because that's how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round, and it has thrills and chills and is very brightly colored, and it's very loud. And it's fun, for a while.

Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they've begun to question, 'Is this real, or is this just a ride?', and other people have remembered, and they've come back to us and they say 'Hey, don't worry. Don't be afraid, ever, because this is just a ride.' and we KILL THOSE PEOPLE.

"Shut him up! We have alot invested in this ride! SHUT HIM UP! Look at my furrows of worry. Look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real."

It's just a ride.

But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that. You ever noticed that? And let the demons run amok. But it doesn't matter, because ... It's just a ride.

-Bill Hicks

You go through the amusement park (the false world - nothing but a dream, an illusion, as shown at the beginning), go on "the ride" (your life) - ending in death (of yourself, but not really of yourself, as you go on - it was just a ride, or a dream, a temporary path like the beginning rollercoaster). Then through the long tunnel, coming out of the squishy flesh part into something else - something more solid and permanent, and ascend to "the gate which leads to the Road To Paradise" (the REAL world).

I recommend you read the notes left on the floor, walls and door in this section of the game for a fuller understanding of this. And of course the second time Heather goes on the rollercoaster represents the spiritual death we avoid if we follow him on the same path, because Christ already endured it for us, so we escape it.

Wow, that is a really interesting observation loonwolf, and I think that is what the developers were going for. Well done, loonwolf!

_________________Wolfwood: Oh yeah, I almost forgot. "Go with the grace and protection of the Lord." It's the usual mantra for the big hero.Vash the Stampede: Does it work?Wolfwood: That depends entirely on you.Vash the Stampede: Some mantra...

Interesting observation.. but may I just add somethin' if U don't mind..

Loonwolf wrote:

-Heather dies "lifted up" in a high place (squished on the rollercoaster track) in the amusement park, but is resurrected to return there, and can't die any more.-Jesus Christ dies "lifted up" in a high place (nailed to a tree/cross on a hill) on earth, but is resurrected to return there, and can't die any more.

Wouldn't it fit better if you compared Dahlia's ceremony of purification with the crucifiction of Jesus? The rollercoaster was a dream. And even if Alessa survived the fire she had 3rd degree burns- which is impossible.

And about the reverse genders of christianity.. you didn't mention that in SH it is the man and woman who created God.. --> reverse feature of the Genesis.. And: in the Genesis the man and woman created by God are pure "creatures", while in SH they were filled with sin and hatred.

Yes, the punishment for sin is often likened to a burning fire. But God himself endures it for us, and returns alive - just as Alessa survived the flames.Something else Heather said, "I've been chosen as the sacrifice." Like Alessa, and Christ.Life is a dream! This is not the "real world", it's just a very brief passing dream, which is soon forgotten. If you lose your arm in the dream you awake to find you haven't lost your arm at all.

The man and woman are only pure before they understand the concept of good and evil. Once they are told something is wrong, they immediately want to do it - especially when a tempter whispers in their ears.

Romans 7:7-9...What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, â€œYou shall not covet.â€ But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.

Something else I noticed at the end battle, where Heather sacrifices "herself"...This is part of the amusement park ride (life) which goes round and round, like the sun and moon, the seasons, days, weeks, months, feasts, etc.

In the beginning Heather has to complete the repeated animal sacrifices, which were a shadow of what was to come, in the law of Moses (which Christ was also under and required to fulfil). Then, at the appointed time, the animal sacrifice ends, and the REAL sacrifice turns up - Heather herself, but this version is full of sin, and just as immortal as Heather, requiring her to be killed multiple times. Then when this EVIL Heather, full of the sins of the world is defeated, Heather can ascend to her kingdom.

Concerning the characters...-Claudia, head of the false religion, confusing the true Goddess (Heather) with the false goddess. Like the Pope and others, doomed to die.-Vincent, is like the "lukewarm" Christian, half working for Heather and half working for the false church and the false goddess. His desire is for money, power and satisfying his own pleasures. His trust is in books (scripture) and the meaningless symbol (the seal) which turns out to have no power whatsoever - it is Heather who has the real power. Leonard is similar, but is possessed by a powerful demon himself. Both die.-Douglas, the faithful servant. Though he began in confusion, after meeting Heather, he begins to serve her - though in reality, he does very little himself, and Heather does all the hard work for him. Yet notice when Heather jumped off the rollercoaster, it was Douglas who mysteriously broke his leg in her place, and she was fine. In the end (so long as Heather completes her task correctly) then she saves Douglas.

Everybody else, whether they work for the false church or not, are possessed by demons. Heather sees them plainly, as also Douglas seems to, but it seems they may be more attractive to Vincent, and of course Leonard is one himself.Notice that if Heather goes around slaughtering them all, then in the end she also kills Douglas (who is just as imperfect). Yet if she HATES the bloodshed, and gives those possessed by demons the chance to repent later, only killing when it is NECESSARY, then in the end she also saves Douglas. ("I desire mercy, not sacrifice.")

There is a lot more to this game if you look deeper! "Vengeance is mine. I will repay!"

wow just read a bit through this thread, loonwolf you definitely have some interesting ideas on the games underlying themes. I think a lot of what you said definitely makes sense and could be what the developers had planned. Some of the similarities seem to specific to be a coincidence